April 30, 2020
Gold Mine Hike at Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, Australia
Posted by Evelyn Mervine
Considering the COVID-19 travel restrictions at the moment, my ability to go on georneys (geological journeys) is very limited at the moment. However, here in Australia we are fortunate that we can still go outside for some recreation, as long as we stay close to home. We live close to Mount Coot-tha, a mountain with a beautiful forest reserve and botanic garden. Most weekends, I go for a hike with my husband and son on Mount Coot-tha. My son is 2 1/2, so we go on short hikes that are somewhere between 2 km and 5 km in total distance. Fortunately, there are plenty of great easy, short hiking trails at Mount Coot-tha.
One of our favorite hikes at Mount Coot-tha is along the Ghost Hole Track, which takes you past some old gold mine workings. At Mount Coot-tha, there is gold mineralization is located in small quartz-rich lenses that are located in meta-sedimentary rocks, specifically in the Bunya Phyllite and the Neranleigh-Fernvale Beds. The gold mineralization at Mount Coot-tha is not spectacular. However, there was intermittent gold mining on the mountain from the 1890s to the 1950s. Today, no gold prospecting or mining is permitted in the forest, but you can take a walk along an easy hiking trail to see an old gold mining shaft and some remnants of mining infrastructure. You can even have a picnic at the “Gold Mine Picnic Area”.
We really enjoy our little hikes through the former gold mining area. The forest is beautiful, and the remnants of gold mining and associated informational signs are interesting. The hike is perfect if you want an easy, but interesting, hike to go on with a toddler.
Below are some pictures of the hiking trail. Click on any of the pictures below to enlarge them.
Admittedly, the gold mining infrastructure is not the most spectacular — there’s not much left. However, with the signs it nevertheless makes for an interesting little hike through a beautiful forest. I highly recommend it for a family hike.
How cool to see the view from my deck featured. Thank you. Best part, I can do this for real and not violate the restrictions.